


Little things

by Rae_chan



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Inspired By Tumblr, M/M, i can't help but make these two in love so sue me, leo kinda screws up, ryoma and hinoka are scary older sibs, some fluff at the end, spells, youth spell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 05:57:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11663028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rae_chan/pseuds/Rae_chan
Summary: Leo likes to play around with the spells in his tome, Brynhildr, but sometimes the spells don't go quite as planned.





	Little things

“How many spells are in that book anyway?” Takumi asked as Leo was muttering to himself. They had settled into the Hoshidan Library after the formal peace talks had concluded. 

“Hmm,” Leo blinked looking up at the other prince, “Oh, I couldn’t tell you, this isn’t a conventional tome, the spells aren’t simply written out plainly, there are some that span pages and over lap with one another, even the standard battle component you’ve seen before is more complex than it first appears,”

“Such as being able to change its size and power, and sometimes even its appearance,” Takumi replied, “as you’ve shown me before,”

“But it’s not just trees, that is simply a facet of Brynhildr, it is also life in a general sense,” Leo mused.

“Life you say? How can you possibly demonstrate that?” Takumi challenged.

Leo hesitated, chewing on his lip a bit in contemplation, “There is one spell I’ve been parsing here that I’ve found most of the components for,”

“Then show me,” Takumi set his own book aside giving the mage prince his full attention.

“I’m not entirely sure what it will do,” Leo muttered, “Something about invigoration, or perhaps energy,”

“What’s the worst that could happen? Getting all jittery like when I drink coffee?” Takumi scoffed, “Let’s see what it does,”

Leo sighed at the naive enthusiasm displayed by his friend, but he had been wondering what the spell actually did as well, and the best way to find out was to try it. He flipped a couple pages back and started the incantation, carefully picking out the words he needed.

 

Finishing the spell, Leo let out a long breath, feeling like his energy had been sapped instead of renewed. He was about to ask how the other felt, but as he looked up, he was greeted by a startling picture.

“Why are my clothes so big?” Takumi’s voice came out but increased in pitch, “What happened? Leo how’de you get so big?” 

“Oh gods,” Leo swallowed hard, not sure whether to laugh, cry or throw up.

“You look like you're gonna be sick,” Takumi spoke bluntly.

Leo stood, placing the tome down and approached the other prince and knelt down in front of him, “Takumi tell me how you feel,”

“I feel fine, kinda confused,” Takumi shrugged.

“You don’t feel any different than before I used the spell?” Leo asked.

“Spell?” Takumi blinked, “I remember reading, then getting annoyed by your muttering, then…”

“And then?” Leo prompted. Takumi’s face scrunched up in thought, the expression so exaggerated that Leo had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. He was feeling downright hysterical that the man, or rather boy in front of him didn’t seem to know what had occurred.

He took a couple breaths and reached out a hand, fixing the oversized clothing closer around the small body huddled in the middle of them.

“Now I don’t want to alarm you, but I just used a spell that I had no idea what it was going to do, and it may have had some unfortunate consequences that I may or may not be able to reverse,” Leo spoke slowly, gauging the others reaction.

“Are you always so stiff?” Takumi scoffed, “Say what it did,”

“I turned you into a child,” Leo finally said aloud.

“What?” Takumi actually seemed stunned this time. Leo watched as he actually looked at himself, “Yeah, okay, I guess I am,” came a matter-of-fact answer that finally tipped Leo over the edge.

“What is so funny?” Takumi demanded. Leo was unable to answer as he sat back on the floor and laughed, tears streaming down his face. Takumi watched him for a few moments but decided he’d had enough after that. He slid himself off the chair he’d been in, and began to walk off.

“Takumi wait!” Leo snapped out of it as the clothing Takumi had been wearing came right off. Leo had the sense to close his eyes as the little Takumi turned back towards him.

“Yeah what?” Takumi asked, as Leo slowly crawled forward, grabbing the first piece of clothing his hands met and then throwing it over the naked little kid. When he heard the thump of him falling though, his eyes came open and he scrambled over, gathering up both child and clothing into his arms. He quickly uncovered Takumi’s head and was met with a cry that was no longer muffled.

“Don’t cry,” Leo hushed, “Please don’t cry, are you hurt?”

Takumi just cried. Leo was trying not to panic, and logically the first step here was to get Takumi some proper fitting clothes, hopefully before anyone saw him with the second Hoshidan prince in such a state.

 

If only he was so lucky. Halfway down the hall towards the Hoshidan royal's suites, he was cut off by King Ryoma’s female retainer, Kagero.

“What business do you have in this corridor?” she asked sharply before noticing the bundle he was holding, “And what is that you’re holding?”

Leo tried to think of an explanation that wouldn’t get him imprisoned, “I- uh, am going to meet Prince Takumi in his rooms and return these clothes he lent me to try on,” 

“That is an awful large pile for summer clothing,” She narrowed her eyes.

“He gave me a couple outfits, I fear I’ve been careless with them, but that is why I must go see the Prince, to ask for his assistance,” Leo insisted hoping Takumi would keep quiet just a little longer.

“Would Oboro, his retainer, not be a better choice for this situation?” Kagero suggested.

“She and I are not on the best terms, and I find her rather intimidating,” Leo sighed pathetically.

Kagero considered his words, “Third door to the right,” she directed, then watched from her station until Leo reached the room, knocked, and entered.

 

In the room, Leo let out a sigh of relief and gently uncovered Takumi’s head, finding him fast asleep. No wonder he had been so quiet, Leo thought. He carefully placed him onto his bed and made his way over to the closet hoping desperately to find something to fit.

“Prince Takumi, Prince Leo, I’m coming in,” came a call accompanied by a knock.

Leo froze as Takumi’s other retainer, Hinata, came in. He glanced at Leo standing in the closet, over to the bed with the lump of clothing on it and the little silver head poking out of it all. He calmly walked over and looked closer, crossing his arms.

“Might be a crazy thing to ask, but why does Takumi look like a kid?” Hinata didn’t look mad, he looked curious.

“Not as crazy as you might think,” Leo sighed, “I suppose I couldn’t keep this quiet forever, I’m not even sure I can reverse it,”

“Hinata?” a little voice from the bed grumbled sleepily, “You’re so huge,”

Hinata snorted, “Nah, you’re just little is all, go back to sleep,”

“Okay,” Takumi yawned and did just that.

Leo stood astonished at the interaction he just witnessed, “How are you taking this so casually?”

“Huh? Well I can’t just freak him out, clearly you’re doing that enough for the both of you,” Hinata raised an eyebrow at the frantic expression still plastered across Leo’s face, “And you’re not gonna find anything that small in there,” Leo continued to gape, Hinata sighed heavily, “Look, I’ll go find something for him, and you stay here in case he wakes up,”

“But-” Leo tried to protest but was cut off.

“I won’t say anything to anyone yet, but as soon as I get back, you’re gonna explain what happened to me, and then I’ll take you to his brother,” Hinata made it clear there was no room for argument. Leo watched as he left and then decided he might as well just sit until he returned. He decided to thank the gods Hinata was so level headed about it, he didn’t think anybody would have reacted so calmly and he hated the thought of presenting Takumi’s state to the King.

 

Hinata led the way to the conference chamber, Leo trailing him holding the diminutive prince who had since awoken but was decidedly quiet. Back in the room after Hinata had dressed Takumi properly, Takumi had made it clear Leo was carrying him. Leo couldn’t imagine why, but he had complied since this really was his fault.

“Just in here,” Hinata motioned to a door. Leo hesitated. Pushing through he was greeted with not only King Ryoma, but his own brother King Xander as well.

“Your M-majesty,” Leo bowed, “Brother,”

Ryoma’s eyes honed in on Takumi, “Is that?” His question hung as he stood, and came right up, looking hard at the child form of his brother, “Takumi?”

“Hi Ryoma-nii,” Takumi chirped. 

Leo could see Xander’s forehead crease deepen, but he silently observed. Ryoma took Takumi under the arms and held him up, looking absolutely bewildered, but it quickly shifted to concern as he checked his little brother over, head to toe.

“Are you okay little brother?” Ryoma asked.

“Yeah, Leo put a spell on me I guess,” He shrugged as if were a normal occurrence. Ryoma’s reaction said the complete opposite.

“What is the meaning of this?” He asked sharply, suddenly holding Takumi as if he were protecting him from harm, “What did you do?”

“It is as he said, I cast a spell,” Leo frowned, “It was not my intention to bring any harm,”

“Tell us from the beginning Leo,” Xander finally spoke, gesturing to a seat at the table.

 

“You were careless, there is no denying that,” Xander nodded after Leo had told the story with occasional little inserts from Takumi who seemed to think he was helping. 

“I should have better understood the spell first, and I should have highlighted the words before I started to avoid errors,” Leo hung his head, “I still don’t quite understand if I missed something or added something, the key word was invigorate, yet this happened.”

“Was there any other possible translations?” Xander wondered aloud.

“Of course, but in context invigorate had made the most sense,” Leo pondered, “That or it could be refresh...That’s it!” Leo snapped up, “That would make more sense considering what happened, he’s been refreshed to an earlier state of life,”

Ryoma only looked more concerned, “Takumi, can you tell me what you remember about recently?”

“Yeah, there was a war in the place we can't talk about because of the war between Nohr and Hoshido, but now everything is better and Leo is my friend now,” Takumi summarized.

“At least he has retained his memory,” Xander nodded, “Or at least everything but you casting the spell,”

“Since I hadn’t realized I was targeting him and control the power of the spell, plus the drastic effect on his body probably induced a short incidence of shock, leaving the traumatic event forgotten,” Leo explained.

“Can it be reversed?” Ryoma asked seriously.

“I will be honest, I am not completely sure, I will have to study the spell very carefully, then perhaps get a second translation to ensure I can reverse it correctly and not push him farther back in his development,” Leo cringed at the thought.

Ryoma looked like he might jump across the table at him, if not for Takumi sitting in his lap. 

“We still have some things to discuss, so why not let Leo take him and figure out a way to reverse this,” Xander suggested coolly.

“Not alone, go to the infirmary and find Sakura, see if she can help, if not with the spell, then with the well being of my brother,” Ryoma glared at Leo as if he would actually consider hurting Takumi, which in the past had not been untrue, but now Leo couldn’t even fathom it.

 

“This is rather odd, getting to see my older brother so little,” Sakura gladly took Takumi from Leo, “Gosh he’s cute though,”

“Am not,” Takumi grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. That only made Sakura giggle.

“You’re handling this much better than the king was,” Leo sighed pulling Brynhildr from under his arm, having collected it from the library.

“He was livid wasn’t he?” Sakura smiled knowingly, “Hinoka would likely react the same, you are lucky she’s out training new recruits today and likely won’t be back till dinner time,”

“I doubt this will be solved by then,” Leo groaned.

“Well, then you don’t have much time to waste, let’s get to work,” Sakura giggled again, settling Takumi onto a cot and moving to one of the cabinets, “I have a book with many healing spells recorded, it’s not a tome proper, but it can serve as a reference,”

“You think healing magic could help?” Leo inquired.

“Well, considering what happened, the original spell you used sounds like a modified healing spell, you essentially healed him of his age, and from what I can see without a more thorough exam, Takumi’s battle scars seem to have disappeared,” Sakura reasoned.

“My original translation called it invigorate, leading to my callous misuse of it, but then I thought refresh, but it seems rejuvenate could also work,” Leo flipped through his tome to the correct spell. He set to work transcribing what he had read, Sakura glancing over his shoulder now and again to skim the words.

 

“I’m bored, can I go outside?” Takumi whined after an hour of sitting around playing with the wooden soldiers Sakura had given him.

“Sorry brother, but I doubt you really want anyone to see you like this,” Sakura told him sympathetically.

“I don’t care,” Takumi pouted.

“But you will when Leo finds a way to get you back to your proper age,” Sakura sat down beside him.

“Maybe I don’t wanna,” Takumi grunted.

“Don’t want to what?” Sakura asked patiently.

“I don’t want to be the right age, I don’t want to be an adult,” Takumi grumbled.

“Why is that?” Sakura nodded, “What’s so bad about being an adult?”

“Too many things I hafta do, even when I don’t wanna,” Takumi explained, “I don’t want to hurt anymore,”

“What was hurting you Takumi?” Sakura followed the line of questioning. Leo had paused in his work to listen in on them, curious as well to the reason for his plight.

“Everything I did, and the war made me hurt a lot, but that was fine, I could explain that and make it better, but the other hurt was inside me, I couldn’t make that better before, but it’s gone now,” Takumi told her earnestly.

“I see, and I understand that too, being around people hurts me too sometimes, like at those dinner parties we used to sneak out of,” Sakura offered, “But that was a thing I did with my big brother, not my little brother,”

“I could be your little brother,” Takumi sounded unsure, “Leo might not find a way to change me back,”

“But he might,” Sakura glanced up at Leo who went back to work even though he was still listening, “I think I’d miss my big brother too much, I’d be a bit sad,”

“I don’t want you to be sad Sakura,” Takumi groaned.

“Now think how much were you hurting yesterday?” Sakura asked him.

“Some, just cause I was nervous about the Nohrians coming,” Takumi admitted.

“Some isn’t all, what else did you feel?” 

“I also felt happy,” Takumi nodded as if to reassure himself that it was true.

“And what made you happy?”

“Cause Leo was coming, and I was looking forward to seeing him again cause we’re friends now,” Takumi looked up at Leo, who was sneaking another glance at them, “I can still be friends with Leo like this can’t I?” he seemed genuinely worried about the prospect.

Leo took a look from Sakura as a cue, “I dunno, I think it would be more fun to have a friend who's the same age as me,” It wasn’t strictly a lie, he certainly wouldn’t abandon Takumi if he couldn’t fix it, his conscience wouldn’t let him.

“I guess I can let Leo fix me,” Takumi mumbled, looking downcast.

“Why don’t I pull out the shogi board and we can play a match?” Sakura suggested.

Takumi nodded enthusiastically and followed Sakura to help her gather the set and find the perfect spot on the floor to play it. Leo noticed that she had cleverly chosen a spot out of sight of the door.

 

“Sakura!” Hinoka’s voice came from the other side of the door, “I’m coming in with a couple injured,”

Sakura gently hushed Takumi before springing up and opening the door, letting Hinoka and three of her recruits in. One seemed to be unable to stand on one leg and the other was clutching his side and groaning.

Hinoka settled the men into the beds Sakura indicated before speaking again, “Surprised to see you here of all places Prince Leo, I figured you’de still be with Takumi in the library,”

“Uh yes, I suppose I was,” Leo glanced up, trying to come up with an excuse.

“He had a spell he found that he wasn’t sure about that looked like a healing spell, so he came to ask me about it,” Sakura supplied helpfully.

“Why not ask your sister?” Hinoka raised an eyebrow, “Isn’t she a healer too?”

“Well yes, but she tends to over generalize,” Leo groaned, “Besides she’s spending time with Camilla and I would rather not interrupt and get dragged into whatever it is they’re doing. Camilla is rather intense at her best”

“That’s fair,” Hinoka shrugged, “I’m sure Takumi thinks the same of me sometimes,” and with that, she laughed.

“Personally I can’t see why,” Leo thought out loud, “except for on a battlefield, I will admit you are a fearsome foe. Gladly that is no longer the case,”

“Indeed, I would say the same of you,” Hinoka nodded, then turned her attention back towards her sister who proclaimed the one man’s leg to be broken and the other man’s ribs to be only badly bruised. She used a spell to ease the pain and ordered resting periods for them both. She splinted the first man’s leg before ordering him to bed down for a few days after which she would use more magic to mend the bone. She explained the spell she would use would take a lot of energy from the both of them, and as such, she needed time to prepare.

 

“Thank you Takumi, I appreciate you hiding for us,” Sakura knelt back down at their shogi board once Hinoka and her men had left. 

“I guess I understand why Hinoka might freak out seeing me little,” Takumi nodded, “She’d probably try to kill Leo instead of just thinking about it,”

Leo groaned a little at the prospect of the fearsome older Hoshidans out for his blood. 

“Made much progress?” Sakura asked Leo over the cot they were behind while Takumi took his next move.

“I’ve identified a few more secondary keywords, but I’m still trying to figure out which one corresponds to age or growth, because I am almost certain that is the key to reversing this,” He ruffled his hair and made a face, “I could really use a break,”

“I think that’s check,” Sakura said, having completely ignored Leo’s complaint.

“No way,” Takumi argued, “I can still do this,”

“I didn’t even see that, but I think I can still beat you in three turns,” Sakura giggled confidently.

“I can beat you in two,” Takumi countered.

“Very well, let’s play it out then,” Sakura relented. Leo heard a few more clicks of the pieces on the board before Takumi cheered with one final clack on the board. Sakura was a graceful loser, congratulating her brother and allowing him to come out and move to where Leo was.

“Can I see?” Takumi lifted his arms towards Leo. Leo glanced down and grabbed Takumi, settling him onto his lap, then went back to scribbling away at the paper in front of him before he had to stop and think about what he had just done. He shook his head and looked down at Takumi, who tilted his head back to do the same. Leo couldn’t help the blush that crossed his face and tried to hide it. He tried to go back to writing, but couldn’t focus with the little amber eyes fixed to his face.

“Are you embarrassed to have me in your lap?” Takumi said flatly, seeming to have tuned into his internal struggle.

“Not embarrassed per se,” Leo hummed, “You’re just too damned cute,”

“Am not,” Takumi finally looked away pouting, “Change me back, so I can prove it,”

“Changing back won’t change the way I feel,” Leo’s mouth spilled the words before his brain had a chance to process their intent. Takumi seemed to be processing the words slowly and didn’t respond yet. Leo glanced at his notes as something else to look at than the little boy he had essentially just confessed to. Immediately his eyes were drawn to a single line with notations for time in the context and frantically went through the actual wording of the phrase, finding not one secondary keyword, but a compounded keyword for rewinding a clock. He wanted to kick himself for not noticing it before, quickly isolating the term and then consulting the book itself to find its antithesis. He found one on the same page, but it seemed to let the clock return to what was, Leo played around with the conjugation in his head and quickly jotted a few things down, and found he could make the clock simply roll forward. 

“I think I have it, but I want to test it first before I use it this time, do you know if there are any older animals in the stable I could use?” Leo asked Sakura, gathering up his notes.

“There should be an older kinshi bird,” Sakura nodded, “It is almost 10 years of age, with their maturity falling at only a year and a half, they usually live to 13 years, if they are well cared for,” Sakura outlined their lifespan without Leo having to ask, understanding what he would be doing.

“Great, if you could keep Takumi here, I will likely only need an hour at most, I haven't cast much lately so I should have enough energy when I return,” Leo scooped Takumi off his lap and set him down on the floor on his feet before dashing out of the infirmary towards the stables. 

 

He found the kinshi bird easily enough, it was calm as he let himself into its stall. He had read that when approaching these massive birds to do so with your hands visible, it allowed them to see you meant them no harm. The kinshi bird shifted only slightly, keeping its eyes on Leo. He managed to reach the bird and then stroked its neck gently, trying to convey his intentions to the bird. He had asked the stable hand if the bird had any injuries, to which he was told that the bird could no longer stretch its one wing out fully due to some scarring. Leo nodded thinking to himself that this was a perfect way to test what he wanted.

 

“Sakura, when is Leo coming back? I’m getting tired of being here,” Takumi grumbled.

“I don’t know brother, but it’s been an hour, so I don’t imagine he will be much longer,” Sakura sighed, having grown tired of Takumi’s presence as well, though she would never admit to it, she found his immature personality trying and much less muted. She had to remind herself he was still the same person, just under the lens of a five-year-old instead of a 17-year-old. 

A knock sounded on the door, prompting Takumi to slide to the floor again with a grunt and Sakura to go answer it. Sakura barely got the door open before Leo pushed himself in and dropped his materials, retaining only his tome.

“Takumi, you can come out, it’s me,” Leo called, “Would you like me to change you back?”

“Yeah,” Takumi shuffled out, “You can change me back,”

“Great, I made sure my spell works right, so don’t worry,” Leo nodded confidently and grinned, “I even made it better,”

“Better?” both Takumi and Sakura spoke at the same time.

Leo only nodded, “You’ll see what I mean in a minute,”

Sakura was suddenly beside him, turning him away from her brother, giving Leo a look he had never seen on the gentle Princess’s face.

“Better how?” Sakura said sternly, her voice low so only he could hear.

“He will be the right age, same as before, with all his memories, but any injuries, any scars that he sustained after the age he’s at right now will be gone,” Leo whispered excitedly.

“Did you even consider what those scars might mean to Takumi?” Sakura’s intensity despite her volume startled Leo, but the pause gave him a moment to consider her question.

“Damn it all,” Leo hissed, “How selfish of me,” 

He turned back to Takumi, who looked at him expectantly.

“I doubt I should even ask him now, once they’re gone they won't come back,” Leo hissed, “He should get a choice when He’s in a proper mindset. I know the spells workings now, I can do it for him if he wishes,”

Sakura released his arm nodding and backed up. Leo took a moment to align the spell in his mind and then began the incantation. When he finished, he looked back up to find Takumi the right age, but very naked, the clothing he had been wearing now discarded about his feet. Leo promptly looked away as Sakura handed him a pile of clothes she had thought to send for before Leo had returned. Leo busied himself in putting all his notes and his tome away into his satchel.

“You’re an idiot you know that?” came a grumpy rhetoric from just behind him.

“Yeah,” Leo said before turning around to find the other prince now fully clothed and not a hint of anger in his body language, “I am,”

“That was a weird experience, to say the least,” Takumi sighed, his eyes coming up to meet Leo’s, “But I can’t say it was all bad,”

The amber eyes were the same, and Leo couldn’t help himself when he smiled, “There are perks to youth,”

“That’s not what I meant,” Takumi’s gaze didn’t waiver, “it’s about what you said to me, did you lie?”

“I said a lot of things,” Leo avoided.

“You really are an idiot,” Takumi sighed heavily and stepped closer, “If it helps jog your memory, I think you’re cute too,” the smirk his mouth had formed didn’t match the hopeful caution that showed in his eyes.

Leo went bright red, “I wasn’t lying,” he lifted his hands tentatively like he wanted to cover his face again, but then he seemed to change his mind and instead stepped forward to hug Takumi. 

“I can get rid of your scars for you if you want me to,” Leo told him, waiting for reciprocation.

Takumi’s arms closed around him after a moment's hesitation, “I appreciate the thought, but I think I’ll keep them, to remind me how we got to this point,”

Neither of them moved until the third occupant of the room reminded them of her presence, “As much as I am proud of you both, I have my own work to do, and I would appreciate being left to do it without distraction,”

The boys looked at her and blinked, before apologizing and vacating the room hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by this post by tumblr user apticho, credit for the original idea goes to them and their adorable art: (http://apticho.tumblr.com/post/163511912957/wrong-spell)  
> It was too cute an idea to pass up writing. Hope you guys liked it!


End file.
